


only you can ease my mind

by TuliaNayeli



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, Healthy Relationships, Katara and Aang to the rescue, M/M, Minor Aang/Katara, Roommates, Sokka just wants to love Zuko, Zuko's been in love with him for months but sstt, a lot of love, and they were ROOMMATES, but also sokka, finals week has them a lil worn out, it's so soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:34:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27628903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TuliaNayeli/pseuds/TuliaNayeli
Summary: "So that’s why it’s a crisis. Because there are tears. Because when he opens his dorm, he is faced with a red-nosed Zuko, who’s wiping away tears, trying, and failing, to look like he wasn’t just having a full-blown panic attack."Or: Zuko forgot to write a paper, it's a few hours until the deadline and he's freaking out. Sokka is going to fix this, even if it's the last thing he doesOr: Sokka is hopelessly in love with Zuko and just wants to cuddle him for all eternity
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 34
Kudos: 385





	only you can ease my mind

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the stunning song "Ease my mind" by Ben Platt

Sokka is man enough to admit that the only thing he wants when he opens his dorm room is to curl up under his favourite blanket, watch some terrible, terrible movie and order too much pizza. But he can see that’s not going to happen. Because the moment he actually enters his dorm, he stumbles onto a crisis. A crisis that involves a lot of tears.

Not his tears, mind you. Sokka is man enough to admit that he’s had four crying meltdowns in the past two weeks alone. It’s finals week, okay. You can’t blame a man for crying during finals.

Hakoda raised two very smart (okay mainly Katara), very capable, very badass siblings who know how to kill a man and _will_ kill a man (again, mainly Katara). But he also raised two kids who are well in tune with their emotions.

So yes, Sokka is man enough to admit that he cries a lot. But that’s fine. It just means that he expresses his emotions in a healthy manner.

Zuko on the other hand, however, is always the picture of stoicism. This has a lot to do with an absent mother and abusive piece of shit father and a whole boatload of childhood trauma that Zuko has only just begun to share with Sokka.

(Zuko, as a rule, shares very little. But Sokka has picked up on things. He’s perceptive like that. And there have been some soft, rumpled, 3 AM conversations that somehow feel safe if only for the fact that they take place under the protective cloak of darkness)

And even though Zuko has healed a lot since he moved in with his uncle at age 14, he is still hesitant to share emotions. It took Sokka _two full weeks_ of being roommates before Zuko smiled (it was a very nice smile, not that Sokka was looking or anything). It took him another month before he coaxed out a full-blown laugh. But Sokka is nothing if not persistent, and well, not to brag, but he _is_ pretty hilarious. And he has a lot of protective instincts that stem from being an older brother and also befriending literal children (okay, so Toph and Aang are only two years younger, but that makes them pretty much babies). So he likes to think that now, after a year of being roommates and at least 8 months of being close friends, Zuko feels safe enough around him to express his emotions. (Sokka was delighted to find out Zuko had like, 5 other emotions than anger and annoyance).

Still, Sokka has never seen Zuko cry. Not even when they watched Up. In all honesty, Sokka had wondered if Zuko was even capable of producing tears at all ( _what?_ It’s a genuine concern!)

So that’s why it’s a crisis. Because there are tears. Because when he opens his dorm, he is faced with a red-nosed Zuko, who’s wiping away tears, trying, and failing, to look like he wasn’t just having a full-blown panic attack.

Remember those protective instincts? Yeah, they hit him like a freight train. He’s dropped his bag and jumped onto the couch to hold Zuko close against his chest before he has the chance to consider that Zuko might want space, or you know, might object to being cradled like a baby by his best friend.

However, all Zuko does it let out the most pitiful sound Sokka has ever heard and burrow close into his friend’s hoodie. It’s very cute, and very concerning.

“Hi, buddy? What– What’s up? You’re kinda scaring me here, man.”

Zuko sniffs. “Sorry, let me just-”

And he tries to sit up. Yeah, _no_.

“Hey, no. C’mere. Cuddle time.”

Cuddle time is a thing they do. Sokka is an affectionate person and he missed Katara, his dad and Gran Gran a _lot_ those first weeks at uni. He needs his cuddles and although it seemed to pain Zuko, he never rejected Sokka when he asked for cuddles. The first few sessions were awkward as hell, mainly because Zuko stayed stock still and super stiff. Sokka kept asking if it was okay (consent is important kids!). Finally, he told Zuko they we’re going to stop cuddle time, because he felt like he was taking advantage of Zuko’s inability to say no. He might enjoy cuddling up with a cute boy, but only if said boy also enjoys it.

Apparently, all it took for Zuko to cuddle like a normal person was the threat of taking it away (Although that was not the intention! Sokka just did not want to pressure Zuko! He swears!). Through a bright red blush, Zuko stammered out that he liked cuddle time, but didn’t want to take advantage.

Whoever told Zuko that you could take advantage from someone by also enjoying cuddles that _the other person asked for_ was seriously delusional. The whole point is that both parties enjoy it. Sokka told Zuko as much.

From then on, Zuko absolutely melted into him every time Sokka initiated cuddle time. One thing never changed though. Sokka always had to frame cuddle time as something _he_ needed. _He_ had to ask. And if he sometimes pretended to need cuddles when he thought Zuko was the one needing some TLC, that’s no one’s business but his own.

There is no plausible deniability possible now, though. Sokka is not the one crying.

The one that _is_ crying, the one that is the most stubborn person Sokka has ever met, stiffens for a second, before starting to cry even harder.

Sokka is getting a bit freaked out, but then again, Zuko hasn’t cried in months. He probably has a lot of build-up tears. So he just shifts to get comfortable, starts petting Zuko’s hair and let’s his roommate get it all out.

oOo

Sometime later (A few minutes, an hour, a day? What is time even?) Zuko starts to quiet down.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak out on you.”

“That’s okay. Remember when I came home drunk and we were out of instant noodles? That was way worse than this.”

Zuko looks like he’s holding back a smile. And although Sokka would’ve preferred a less tearstained face, Zuko’s soft look is still the prettiest thing he has ever seen.

(Yes, Sokka is in love with his roommate and best friend. Did he not mention that already? His bad. He’s very, very much in love with Zuko. So there, now you know.)

“That was quite the evening, yes.”

Sokka is very pointedly not thinking about how that evening ended with him pleading Zuko to sleep in his bed that night because he was still sad about the noodles and did not want to be alone. He is also very pointedly not thinking about how Zuko obliged and woke up curled into Sokka’s chest. Sokka, who had one of the worst hangovers of his life, but was also very much trying to hide that he was experiencing the single best moment of his life. They didn’t talk about it. But that does not mean that Sokka does not daydream about waking up with Zuko splayed all over him on the regular. It’s a thing. He wants to wake up with Zuko even more than he wants to _sleep_ with him. Waking up curled around Zuko, sunlight streaming in through the window, being so content, it’s the most magical feeling he’s ever had. Wait, where were they? Oh yes, crisis.

“But seriously, what’s wrong?”

“A few weeks ago the professor of my women’s studies class assigned a paper that’s due tonight at midnight and normally I start my papers the day they are assigned and I hand them in way before the deadline but Azula texted me right after class so I forgot to write the deadline down and I was upset and did not start and then I forgot and now my paper is due in a few hours and I haven’t even started and I know nothing about the role of women in Christianity and I’m going to fail and then I’ll have to drop out and– ”

“–Breathe, love. You need to breathe for me.”

And after a few seconds, Zuko’s breathing starts to slow down again.

Sokka doesn’t think he’s ever seen Zuko quite this upset and he certainly has never heard the boy babble quite as nervously.

Obviously, Zuko is in need of some more cuddle time.

“We’ll fix this, I promise. But for now, you need to calm down, buddy.”

And _he_ needs to keep calling Zuko buddy until he feels secure that no other pet names are going to slip out unprompted.

He hugs Zuko close until the other guy starts to pull away towards the other side of the couch.

Sokka eyes him for a bit and decides the worst of the panic is over.

“Right!”, Sokka stands up from the couch and claps in his hands, seemingly startling Zuko.

“I’m going to call Katara and Aang.”

“You’re going to…call your sister and… her boyfriend?” Zuko replies, sounding somewhat confused. (hey, at least Zuko’s not crying anymore. Sokka will take what he can get).

“Sure am.”

“Why?”

“Well, because Aang, bless his little ADHD heart, once fell into a research spiral about the role of women in religion that lasted about sixteen hours straight. He knows a lot, and I do mean a lot, about it. I would know, it was all he talked about for weeks afterwards. And Katara, you know Katara-“

“- Actually I don’t-”

“- she’s an English nerd. So she’s going to proofread this essay and make sure it’s perfect. And then, you’re going to freaking ace this.” Sokka finishes as if he wasn’t ( _rudely_!) interrupted midway through.

It’s a Friday night, with a little less than 6 hours to Zuko’s deadline at 23.59, marking the end of their finals week. Friday night is also date night for Aang and Katara. Hopefully they are still home.

He calls Katara.

Luckily, she picks up on the second ring. “What's up, loser?”

“Hey, my lovely sister, good to speak to you too. You know Zuko, right?

“No, actually I don't–

Zuko looks at him as if proving a point. Sokka has no idea what that point might be, and he decides it's irrelevant.

“You know, Zuko, my roommate. Anyway, we need your help. He has an essay due tonight and he's freaking the fuck out”

“I'm not”

“You so are”

“Sokka!”

“Jeez, impatient much? Anyhow, you're really good in English and Aang knows a lot about women and religion and stuff, right?”

“If you mean his obsession with the role of women in religion that followed the great research rabbit hole of 2017, then yeah. Why?” Katara sounds suspicious. He has no idea why, honestly.

“Ok, you know that was what I meant. The paper is about women in Christianity. Yes, that’s not a very original idea. No, he did not pick it himself. Also, remember that tea I send GranGran for her birthday?”

“Yeah?” Katara sounds even more hesitant

“Well I completely forgot her birthday–”

“I knew you did!”

“–but Zuko helped me pick out that tea and she absolutely loved it. So really you owe him one”

“I don't I don't think that's how it works, Sokka”

Sokka decides to switch tactics.

“Katara, he's the sweetest guy I know, and it would mean the world to me if you would help us.” Sokka sounds painfully sincere and he's aware. But he just wants to help Zuko, goddamnit.

Sokka is man enough to admit that he’s usually a clown. But that also means that people will do anything for him when he is actually being sincere for once. Tonight is no exception.

“Fine. But tell Zuko I want to meet him over the summer. I want to know who this boy is that you've been talking about all year.”

“So you _do_ know who I’m talking about!” Sokka doesn't dare to look at Zuko. His roommate did not need to know just how much Sokka has been talking about him.

oOo

The next few hours pass quickly. Sokka is man enough to admit that he is of little help. He can do little other than offer comfort, brew tea and hype Zuko up when he gets that lost look in his eyes. Katara and Aang are the true heroes. They provide him with sources, help with this outline and proofread his essay.

Aang knows a lot about the topic and Katara gives a lot of good feedback. Sokka just knows when to murmur words of encouragement and gives a lot of hugs and shoulder squeezes.

And every time, Zuko just melts a bit into his encouragement. Sokka knows that the guy did not get a lot of it growing up, and he once again wonders _why_. Zuko is so soft, so sweet, so smart and kind and a little bit awkward and a lot gorgeous. He can’t imagine anyone wanting to hurt him.

Zuko deserves all the love and encouragement and affection in the world and as long as he’ll let Sokka, that’s what he’s going to get from him.

oOo

Zuko hands in his paper at quarter to midnight, turns around to Sokka and says, in a small voice, “Cuddle time?”

It’s the first time Zuko has asked for cuddle time directly. Sokka thinks he might cry.

They’ve moved to Zuko’s bedroom at some point in the evening. Zuko is sitting at his desk, and Sokka is hanging upside down off the side of Zuko’s bed.

So he scrambles into an upright position and opens his arms with a beaming smile.

“Cuddle time.”

Zuko approaches the bed a little hesitantly, and no. That won’t do. Zuko deserves all the cuddles in the world and Sokka wants to be the one to give them to him. For Zuko’s sake of course. No ulterior motives here. No sir.

The moment Zuko is within arm’s reach, he grabs his hand and yanks him on the bed. Zuko, of course, lands fully on top of Sokka. He’s not complaining.

Still, the guy is kind of heavy and unfortunately, although he would like to be in this position forever, Sokka needs to breathe. He shifts them around until Zuko’s head is on his chest, Sokka’s arms wrapped snugly around him. They quietly breathe together for a while.

Sokka is almost asleep when Zuko speaks up.

“Thank you.”

“For what? I didn’t do anything. That was all you, and Kat and Aang.”

“Yes you did. You calmed me down and you came up with a solution. You literally called your sister and her boyfriend on their date night to help me write a paper I should’ve written ages ago. And you made me tea just how I like it.”

Somehow, that last thing seemed to have touched Zuko the most. Spirits, this man is a dork. Before Sokka realizes what he’s doing, he’s planting a kiss on Zuko’s impossibly soft hair.

Both of them freeze.

Zuko looks up, red in the face and hesitancy in his eyes. But after a second, that hesitancy is replaced by a warmth that makes his eyes look like molten gold.

And he tilts his head back even further.

Sokka is man enough to admit he’s so lost in Zuko’s eyes that he almost misses the invitation before Zuko looks away and starts lowering his head again. Sokka stops him with a small nudge of his nose. Tui and La, they’re close together. He can almost count Zuko’s unfairly long lashes. Even from this close, Zuko is the most beautiful person Sokka has ever seen.

“Hi.”

Zuko rolls his eyes. “That’s all you have to say right now?”

“I mean, I could talk some more if you want? But I had a different idea.”

Sokka didn’t know it was possible, but Zuko blushes even more furiously and looks up from under his lashes. “Is that so?”, he manages to sound coy.

“Yeah.” And with a soft grin, Sokka leans in to close that final little gap between them.

(Waking up curled around Zuko is just as magical the second time around. And the third, and fourth, and hundredth time. He’s man enough to admit that.)

**Author's Note:**

> Suki questions him one time when he uses the phrase ‘man enough’ around her. She thinks it’s a stupid, sexist remark. Sokka, completely unfazed, replies dumbly: “But, Suk, I’m not nearly badass enough to get away with using ‘woman enough’.” And bless his heart, he’s completely serious. Suki’s just glad he’s a regular clown, not a sexist clown.


End file.
